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Available on Netflix Instant, DVD: No, Yes / Buy Incendies on Amazon & Support the YMAL

“Death is never the end of the story. It always leaves tracks.”

Incendies opens with death and one of the bluntest sounding parting message one could imagine.

Twins Jeanne and Simon are called into the office of their recently deceased mother’s employer, a notary tasked with carrying out their mother’s last will. The directive – part revelation shrouded in mystery. Nawal Marwan’s request – find these lost immediate relatives and you can bury me properly. Until then, “Bury me with no casket, no prayers, naked, face down, away from the world.”

“Childhood is like a knife in one’s throat; it can’t be easily removed.”

So the twins are sent on a journey through their mother’s past unravel the secrets of Nawal’s past that haunted her. Incendies has a master’s touch for sensitivity and the perfectly weaved storytelling merging scenes of the past with scenes of her children walking along her path without any idea what they are in for. From moment one, writer/director & relative newcomer Denis Villeneuve lays on the visual allusions on pretty thick but effectively. This will be no standard mystery but one laden with symbolic imagery: empty pools, constant visual cues, utilizing every detail to the story with great affect.

For example, the lone insight we have into the lives of the twins not seen through the eyes of their mother is Jeanne as a TA in a Mathematics class. The introduction by the professor describes the class as one that will be dealing with insoluble problems i.e. mathematical posits that have no solutions. Jeanne is already helping teach problems with no answers. When Jeanne asks the professor on his opinion on what she should do in regards to making the trip to her mother’s Middle East unnamed (semi-fictional) homeland his response, “What’s ridiculous is to challenge the inevitable.”Villenueve continually returns to this theme of mathematical problems throughout the film in pivotal moments.

“Ideas only survive if we’re there to defend them.”

From the description so far, I couldn’t blame you for thinking Incendies may appear much duller and overwrought then it actually is. The film moves has excellent pacing, and while it may seem a bit overboard in the profoundness of its dialogue (or the English translation of the French dialogue), the issues the film slowly dissects are as taut and intriguing as any thriller I’ve seen in years. Dancing around major plot-points in order to leave the mysteries intact for you and your viewing pleasure is at the heart of my intent.

Incendies is an attention grabbing film but not an upper by any means. Some of the films imagery is the type that will stick with you and sears into the mind. Despite glimpses of harshness and desperation, the film revels in following the path of our ancestors. Understanding your true history and bringing light to serious historical events from the perspective of those affected most is almost as important as the events themselves. What do people suffer for but for the betterment of their situation, the freedoms of their kin/descendents, and making the world a more tolerable place to exist.

Incendies is engaging, thrilling, profound, revelatory and definitely something you’ve missed out on if you didn’t catch it during a short run when it was nominated as a Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2011. So what are you waiting for?

*****<SEMI-SPOILER ALERT/WARNING*****

The film is not graphic throughout and is rather tame/delicate when dealing with some very heavy issues such as rape, war torn villages, imprisonment, and childbirth. Yet there is one major distrubing taboo that is not avoided, the onscreeen murder of children. The shooting of children onscreen is a major no-no in American films, and is usually the type of plot point that happens off-screen but it’s effect is heartbreaking and pivotal to the characterization of Nawal and other major players in the story.

*****SPOILERS OVER*****<

Reasons to Watch Incendies

History Alert: Gain a basis in the historical narrative of the 1970s Lebanese civil war.

In the same vein, you’re a fan of films like Best Picture winner Argo, retelling conflicts in recent history from the eyes of those involved.

Juxtaposed opening segments of war torn area children followed by the reading of the will.

The Importance of Being Invited In For Tea

Interesting Biblical religious thread & analogies.

The Repetition of the Protagonist’s Name – You’ll never forget the name Narwal Marwan. They must have said it 15 million times. I haven’t heard a name that many times since Captain Jack Sparrow or Kaiser Soze or Jean Faljean (and I didn’t even see that one, just the repetition in the trailer is enough).

(Note: This film was watched under initial protest relating to the fact that the cover of the DVD claimed that one of the members of Linkin Park was responsible for the soundtrack as an incentive to watch this film. Would someone watch this film to hear a score or original music by a member of Linkin Park?)

Action In Any Other Language…

In my very limited research, many overlooked films are skipped by the general public for three primary reasons: a lack of English AKA “reading” or subtitles, they are old, or they are excruciatingly long and patience levels in this day and age aren’t what they used to be when D.W. Griffith ran the film industry.

The Raid: Redemption is one of those… barely. This Indonesian action film has a moderate amount of dialogue, the kind of dialogue that if you were deaf and there were no subtitles, you couldn’t miss what’s going on.

Reminiscent of the first time I saw another Thai film, the mid 2000s martial arts film Ong-bak and was blown away by the dexterity of its diminutive yet powerful star Tony Jaa and his predilection for using his elbow to crack the top of skulls of his enemies. Its ridiculous opening sequence that turns villagers into monkeys playing Muay Thai king of the hill, throwing each other off a tree is singed deep within the recesses of my mind only to reappear when I see multiple people climbing a tree. (Do kids climb trees anymore or is that forbidden in this modern world for safety/liability reasons?)

Opening with a ticking watch, the clock is on for some hot action! Cut to our protagonist Rama. See hero exercise, boy is he powerful, see pregnant wife. See poignant reason why police offer is serving and protecting as part of the BOPE (Indonesian SWAT Team).

Rama: “I’ll bring him back.”

That is about all you actually need to know about the impetus for action in The Raid: Redemption, a line right out of any generic screenplay Schwarzenegger or Van Damme film of the 80s/90s delivered with just about as much dramatic zeal.

The mission? Take out the feared kingpin Tama who is holed in a den of his dealers and cronies. Don;t worry, we’ll show you why Tama is insane right from the first time we see him. Cut to quick introductions of the SWAT team (and their first mission right out of the academy nonetheless!) with the bad ass, the scared one, the commander and the big boss who is “mysteriously” tagging along. When are we gonna get there?!?

Why Seek Out The Raid: Redemption?

As you might be able to tell, this all seems pretty formulaic when it comes to premise and plot but the excellence here is in the execution. Usually, my adventures in film land lead me to the low/moderate budget or older films that use ingenuity to replace what is lacking in resources. And oftentimes when this lack of financing meets a hungry filmmaker or creative team, the final product is full of creativity, ingenuity and passion. I’m sure the film had a decent budget on Indonesian standards ($1.1 million according to IMDB) which is pennies falling out of the US studio pockets but this is no $200 million dollar epic. This film rests on the creativity of the director, fight choreographer and production team to make this teem with adrenaline.

If you saw the recent and underrated Judge Dredd reboot starring Karl Urban, you will be quite familiar with this story as they are quite parallel and excel at what they are doing in a very similar locale. Both take a location (an building fully inhabited by villians) and make them a major character in their story.

But where Dredd is primarily a cold-blooded robotic member of the somewhere in the near future police force, Rama has some ulterior motives of exposition that come to light. If you have a secret pocket in your film watching soul that loves speed, realism and precision in your action films like early Jet Li (not the historic stuff necessarily) or the previously mentioned Ong Bak, it won’t hurt to give The Raid a whirl to cleanse the palette.

And if this isn’t your cup of tea, don’t worry I’ve got plenty of slow brooding dramas on deck.

Drug use is popular fodder for film because it can showcase a visual need and desire of a protagonist. It also allows a character to have different personas, ways of acting, realizations, an apparition or too. From stoner films like Cheech & Chong or Half Baked to reliving the high times of the 70s in films

But more often than not, the patterns of these films are highly recognizable and fit into a cookie cutter style. How many times have you seen the “oops, those are pot brownies!” scene on unsuspecting characters (usually parents or authority figures)? How about the archetypal dealing/addiction films like a Scarface, Blow, Rush, & Basketball Diaries or the memorable, critically acclaimed (Trainspotting, Requiem For a Dream, Boogie Nights)? Even something that stirs a bit of everything together (see: Pulp Fiction).

Often these films center on a protagonist or ensemble of soon to be junkies. We see how their life is affected by drug use over time as they devolve. At first, it gives them life & the filmmaker gets to show the happy feelings associated. In fact, directors probably include drug scene so they can give their own representation of the sensation of drug use – probably a favorite creative task for many directors from the moment they start shooting celluloid.

But eventually, it all devolves. The addiction spirals out of control or the dealer gets in over their head. The character gets strung out and either dies or goes to rehab, gets murdered, goes to jail or turns into a snitch. That decides if they will live or die, if they will be free or locked up. These films may end up talking about the internal battle associated with rehabilitation in a facility or a penitentiary. It may be a warning, give us a glimpse of the terror that awaits us and maybe even a glimmer of hope for those who can recover.

Oslo 31 Aug is not these films.

The Story

Where those films end is pretty much where Oslo, August 31 begins, when it actually starts its linear plot form. The first few minutes feature a montage, a whirlwind of scenes of life around Oslo with disconnected, faceless, voice-over bursts of people relying their first memories of encountering the city.

Then the film loses its voice as we meet Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie) – a recovering Heroin addict (plus just about every other drug in the book) seeing the city again, for the first time.

The film follows Anders on his first day away from rehab on a pass, a chance to reacquaint with society and to interview for a prospective job for when he gets situated. This tight window gives us insight into the proverbial “new start” way after all “the fun” has worn off.

Anders is thin-framed, close-cropped hair and reminiscent of Ewan McGregor’s Renton with Spud’s big nose in Trainspotting sans the outgoing personality. And while there are glimpses, Oslo rarely celebrates or shows a reason of enjoyment in Anders drug use. It is much more about the draw and the accompanying pangs of withdrawal. The feeling of failure of a 30-something man who has nothing and is treated much like a recovering parasite.

It follows him as he tries to tackle that first day without his old, trusty best friend to back him up as he starts the reintegration and confrontation of old demons. A visit with a best friend, a job interview, a visit with a family member, the meetings you would expect someone who is reopening his eyes to do. But from the moment, the journey begins there is obvious struggle and tension built inside of him.

Reasons to Watch Oslo 31 Aug

A realistic depiction of recovery

Director Joachim Trier showcases from that moment how he is going to treat Anders through this film, a hands-off approach, mostly distant but with an inquisitive eye. The film’s overall style tries to stay close enough to see but uninvolved. The frank portrait depicted in the story is painful but extremely intimate. Trier’s adept handling of the material, distinguishing Anders’ various encounters segments makes this small, interesting to watch and gives it a beautiful sense of depth.

Beautiful cinematography.

Understated but powerful performances all around.

If you enjoy the Nordic feel of film-making, or have never experienced it.

Scenes to Look For

The Cafe Listening (especially girl and her list of hopes) plus the juxtaposition to an empty restaurant scene.

The Job Interview

Dance Club Segment

Anders’ stream-of-consciousness internal monologue about his ‘ parents (“They made me a critical reader, contemptuous of the less eloquent”)

Trailer:

Questions to Ponder While Watching the Film

Does the date in the title have any meaning outside of being the actual date of the film? (Hint: Aug 31, is it the end of the summer or the beginning of the fall?)

An actor accepts a newspaper feature assignment to travel the North England countryside and experience high end cuisine with his girlfriend. When she moves back to America, he takes Rob.

Best Reason to Watch

1. The witty repartee between Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon

2. Fan of British Humor.

3. Curious about UK “Foodie” Culture.

What Did You Miss?

Depending on your definition of a film, The Trip may not meet your preconceived notions and prerequisites of a film. Filmed in mockumentary style by the prolific hit-and-miss director Michael Winterbottom, The Trip follows a recent trend of shortening longer BBC miniseries or 6 episodes shows and melding them into a film for a limited release stateside.

Not to be confused with the 1967 Roger Corman directed LSD-centric Peter Fonda/Jack Nicholson flick, The Trip stars Steve Coogan & Rob Brydon as a pair of actors/comedians playing versions of themselves traveling the English country side for a week-long tasting of the most-touted local cuisine spots in more remote areas of the English countryside.

Truly, the eating is just a visual threading and a chance to relocate and change the atmosphere for Coogan and Brydon to continuously have one long gestating comedic conversation with some car driving sequences to tie it all together. They also make a few historic location stops to continually find out that lauded British poet usually had a serious drug problems.

“I am Michael Caine.”

One running joke in The Trip is Brydon reflexively spending 60 percent of his screen time practicing celebrity impersonations, most often Michael Caine. Coogan trashes his impersonation showing him what he is missing. A wonderful give and take that continues throughout the film simultaneously highlighting the snarky nature of Coogan’s frustrated character juxtaposed to Brydon’s simple enjoyment of his surroundings and ability to be a good sport.

Brydon utilizes them as responses to different lines of questions. Even performing a Wordsworth poem at Bolton Abbey utilizing his best Ian McKellen to perform the task. Brydon uses a cover of impersonation to match the mood, selecting the right character in his repertoire to match the mood because his meek, confident persona does not give the moment the right amount of gravitas.

Slate even characterizes this in their review’s sub-headline “A British comedy that has the finest Michael Caine-impression showdown in cinematic history.”

So Sorry, Steve Coogan

In comparison to Ricky Gervais from The Office (UK) to his universally touted HBO series Extras to an excellent (and mixed reviews on his Golden Globe hosting), Steve Coogan has been heavily under-appreciated by American audiences. And that fact is one of the underlying strains of humorous reflection that consistently provides for laughs throughout the overlooked recent The Trip.

For a while Coogan seemed to be on the precipice of a breakout with touted “art films” like 24 Hour Party People, Hamlet 2 & Tristam Shandy:A Cock & Bull Story. The Trip makes for the perfect audition tape for Steve Coogan. His “character” also named Steve Googan spends much of the film reflecting on how he is in his mid-40s, past his prime and overlooked for roles that he would meet perfectly. In one hilarious scene, he explains how it’s all Michael Sheen‘s fault for taking all the good roles.

In a film like this, the best thing a director can do is get out of the way (and maybe add a few touches). For the most part, The Trip feels like a perfectly concocted British Curb Your Enthusiasm episode sans most of the Jewish jokes. A buddy comedy with acerbic wit. Yet the character don’t spend the whole trip barbing each other and getting upset. They understand each other, accept the jabs in stride and let the magic of entertainment take over.

One Line Synopsis: Jack, an aspiring author in need of a job, becomes a croupier (casino dealer) and enters a downward spiral that changes him and inspires his writing.

What Did You Miss?

Croupier is a subdued, murky, throwback film that attempts to meld similar classic fifties’ noir plot-lines and elegance with the shadowy underworld of gambling set in London.

Croupier‘s opening credit sequence (the video above) exhibits the dramatic tautness of an experienced director like Mike Hodges. Hodges may not be a household name but his eclectic career includes such divergent projects as the original Get Carter (the starring Michael Caine and not the one with Stallone) as well as the kitschy, campy Saturday afternoon cable movie favorite Flash Gordon.

Hodges’ best move was casting the up-and-coming Clive Owen. Owen may have come to the attention of the average film goer with his roles in a pair Oscar-nominated films in Robert Altman’s Gosford Park or Mike Nichol’s Closer but 5 years prior, Croupier garnered his first rave reviews as a leading man, earning a very healthy 74 on Metacritic.

Yes, that is Clive Owen with bleached blond hair.

Yes, he is now wearing a Boy George/Culture Club-era hat and suspenders. And once his hair goes brown and he puts on that tux and bow tie, Clive looks as clever and debonaire as ever. (NOTE: He would have made a fantastic Bond, not that Daniel Craig is a slouch.)

“A wave of elation came over him. He was hooked again… to watching people lose.” – Jack (voice-over)

Voice-overs such as this come from Croupier‘s narrator/protagonist Jack, a perceptive out-of-work writer with a sharp, observational tongue. I am a sucker for a high-quality narrator; someone with sardonic comic styling that often reflect my own worldview. A really good voice over can make a movie, giving you motivational insights into brain of the film. Jack takes the cake in this regard.

Although not on purpose, the narrator manner of speech is reminiscent of a contemporary film character Jack, the one in Fight Club played by Edward Norton. (Coincidentally, Norton also played the gambling hound Worm in Rounders during the same period.)

“I want to live with a writer, not a croupier.” -Marion (Jack’s Girlfriend)

Croupier is a film right in my wheelhouse of thematic elements. A Neo-noir, transporting a 50s-Bogart-esque tale into modern-day London. Yet, the film has a throwback vibe throughout. It’s pace is steady. It’s lead character is steely and steadfast.

The biggest reason why I loved this film is Clive Owen. I’m a sucker for Clive Owen (see Thoughts and Notes for an extensive breakdown of this fact). I’m a sucker for gambling. I’m a sucker for failed writers. I’m a sucker for perceptive characters who don’t mince words. I’m a sucker for snarky bastards. I’m a sucker for low-budget films with quality characters and a decent story. And let’s not forget card tricks and conjuring. If you’re a sucker for this kind of plot elements and have about 90 minutes to spare, Croupier might just be the centerpiece for your next out-of-left-field movie night.

In Danny Boyle’s directorial debut, the bond of three twenty-something friends struggle with the discovery their new flatmate dead, naked, and laying beside a bag full of cash.

What Did You Miss?

Not every director has an inauspicious, humble debut in their film-making career. Right off the bat, Danny Boyle hit the triumvirate dream scenario for a novice filmmaker with Shallow Grave: critical acclaim, financial success, and a stylistic calling card of a high quality, well-crafted movie made on a tight budget.

Until the recent critical successes of Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours, Boyle rarely cracked the list of premier working filmmakers. Yet his recognizable techniques and visual leanings were evident immediately. Shallow Grave began a fertile trilogy of films. 1996’s classic Trainspotting and the oft-overlooked A Life Less Ordinary (1997) featured continued collaboration with an up-and-coming star in Ewan McGregor, the talented screenwriter John Hodge, and cinematographer Brian Tufano.

Shallow Grave employs a recognizable plot trajectory also utilized in Trainspotting. The film starts off with young people having fun only to descend into a spiral of madness. Shallow Grave’s opening montage is of three snarky, fun-loving roommates interviewing potential candidates to fill their flat’s fourth bedroom; posing invasive, shocking, or utterly nonsensical questions to amuse themselves at this person’s expense.

Full of upbeat UK dance music by artists like Leftfield, visceral jump cuts, and plenty of playful “fucking with you” interviews, these scenes are prototypical of Boyle’s canon. He employs comparable enthused, fun-loving openings in later films, from Mark Renton’s gleeful race and memorable voiceover through the opening of Trainspotting to James Franco popping wheelies at dawn around Utah’s Blue John Canyon in 127 Hours.

The sarcasm and witty roommate repartee comes to a dead halt, literally, about ten minutes into Shallow Grave. Soon after the new roommate moves in, the flatmates find his body locked in his bedroom next to a bag full of cash. The dramatic side of Shallow Grave quickly moves to the forefront, swiftly spoiling all the fun.
The narrative film turns into a gloomy thriller of paranoia, replete with the requisite shadowy lighting and stark colors, as well as recurring thematic elements of water and drowning. The group’s decision regarding what to do with their freshly deceased roommate slowly tears them apart, becoming an urban adult version of Lord of the Flies. In less capable hands than Boyle’s, this story could become very generic, very quickly. Shallow Grave takes the simplistic tale of trauma and collective secret-keeping to a complex exposition of the divisiveness of a windfall and how quickly it can tear the fabric of friendship apart.

In Shallow Grave, you witness the genesis of a great director, the nascent stages of McGregor’s meteoric rise as an actor, and an interesting psychological thriller full of topnotch twists, impressively made on a tight budget with a script full of pitch perfect dialogue. If you haven’t seen Shallow Grave, I’d say you’ve missed a lot.

Thoughts & Notes (for after the movie… may contain spoilers)

– This film is plentiful with bits and references that will recur in later Boyle projects and especially in Trainspotting.

A deceptive narrator type starts both films off with a humorous, lengthy and fantastic voice over. Both are by McGregor.

Shallow Grave has many allusions and visions of characters being underwater when being in trouble. Trainspotting‘s most infamous scene is where McGregor as Renton dives into possibly the most disgusting toilet swims around looking for drugs, which one would think would have to be the visualization of a character hitting rock bottom.

In the segment where two characters have decided to free themselves of the burden of the money by buying a few video cameras and having fun, we are also introduced to a crawling baby doll. During Renton’s crazy withdrawals segment, he freaks out when he sees a crying, crawling baby approach him on the ceiling.

An obvious affinity for the band Leftfield as they appear in both soundtracks. The use of music in Boyle’s films are very memorable including the perfect use of Iggy Pop’s “Lust For Life” in Trainspotting, VAST’s “Touched” for The Beach, Beck’s “Deadweight” in A Life Less Ordinary.

– Writer John Hodge has a pretty sizable role in the film as the lead investigator on the case DC Mitchell. There is a very weird moment near the end where they are photographing the scene of the crime and McGregor appears to be alive and stabbed as he talks to him. As this is happening, the film’s final reveal is happening simultaneously with the lead female Kerry Fox thinking she made a clean getaway but finding out she was duped.

Hodge wrote Boyle’s first four films until Boyle started utilizing Alex Garland, the writer of the book The Beach which Hodge converted into a screenplay. Boyle’s most recent films, 127 Hours & Slumdog MIllionaire, have been written by Simon Beaufoy who had his breakthrough writing The Full Monty.

– The writing has that trademark witty banter styling of the mid-90s that is prevalent in many indie films you see today. But as the seriousness disappears so does the chatter. The dialogue in the film is a sign of the characters spinning out of control. The situation has become so serious that even the biggest smart-ass can’t come up with a few punchy stabs at a flatmate and it becomes a variety of melodramatic confrontations.

– The film makes excellent use of an inanimate object as a character in the film. In this case it is the stark, red phone that starts as something humorous but eventually becomes an implement of fear and paranoia. This is done in many films, mostly horror films like Scream, but the use here is just another excellent example of the tensity that can be caused just by a sound or the absence thereof.

– Here’s a few of my favorite scenes to watch out for:

Favorite reference: McGregor watching the infamous final scene of Scottish cult classic The Wicker Manas one of his roommates is spiraling into paranoid insanity.

McGregor look down the barrel of a drill (pictured above).

The robbing of a man through an ATM shot through security camera viewpoint.

One of my fascinations is to age a movie by the technology used in it; The big cell phones, the bulky laptops, the video cameras.

Christopher Eccleston hanging upside down from his legs through the opening to the attic like a weary monkey.

Favorite line: When talking to his female flatmate near the film’s penultimate dramatic showdown he tells her to blame the whole thing on him if it goes wrong, and says “That’s important to me, to die misunderstood.”

A Baltimore cop (Joe Mantegna) becomes torn between what he thinks is a major murder case and the death of a old Jewish woman with a family that has strong political connections.

What Did You Miss?

Although it takes place in gritty Baltimore and centers around the homicide detectives, Homicide is not connected to the mid-to-late 90s TV show of a similar name. Despite that fact, if you ever enjoyed Andre Braugher & Kyle Secor’s aggressive, visceral cases you will probably enjoy David Mamet’s third directorial effort.

If nothing else, I can’t think of a movie that has a story centering around an underground, American-based Israeli counter-racism intelligence unit lurking in the shadows. The movie is full of excellent hints and clues, not the average run of the mill crap but unintelligible clues at first look that make perfect sense when they are revealed.

One great scene involves Mantegna running into a religious man studying the codes of the Book of Esther. When trying to explain its intricacies of the text to Mantegna, he implores him to read the text himself. Mantegna tells the man that although he is Jewish, he can’t read Hebrew. The pious man retorts, “You say you’re a Jew, and you can’t read Hebrew. What are you, then?”

What are you is the essential question for almost everyone. It is such a striking question, in a pivotal and pitch perfect scene. It is a scene that usually is some lame revelation of a missing fact in the average writer’s hand but Mamet turns the scene into something immensely more meaningful. It is a wonderful, essential scene of exposition in film. An early inkling of some of Mamet’s writing on essays on antisemitism that have popped up throughout his career.

The film also features the always excellent supporting man in William H. Macy (another Mamet favorite) as Mantegna’s partner. His role is memorable for its high-speed style retorts and commentary. The film is full of fast-talking, overtones of strong racial and anti-semitic overtones (the Jewish “k” word popped up at least fives time, haven’t heard it in so long it still shocked me).

Next time, you’re sitting in front of the TV, waiting for an intelligent “cop torn between allegiances film,” slip in David Mamet’s Homicide and enjoy. Maybe even make it a Mamet marathon. A few nights filled with House of Games, The Spanish Prisoner, Spartan, and Homicide sound like a perfect way to spend a weekend.

Additional Thoughts:

David Mamet’s recent output has been a mixed bag of late; the good – he created the excellent, yet overlooked TV series The Unit, the same goes for the the “spook”-jive lingo of Spartan and the bad – the boring comedy of State and Main and the overrated, boring MMA-flick Redbelt.

Homicide is a the type of film that no longer gets made due to the ridiculous amount of police procedurals that have filled the airwaves in the last twenty years (weren’t there 14 Law & Orders, 9 CSIs, along with NYPD Blue, the previously mentioned TVHomicide: Life On The Street). Even though new ones pop up every year with a few new twists like Life (a personal favorite), Life on Mars (time-traveling cops), The Unusuals (a mid-season replacement a few years back about quirky cops on quirkier cases), the art-form of a quality, intelligent cop movie. These films come in one of two flavors these days, the super-cop type like the Die Hard series or the dirty cops like Training Day and Brooklyn’s Finest.

It is amazing what an amazing director can do for an average actor. Mantegna has two truly excellent film performances and they were both before 1992 and under the direction of David Mamet, this film and the excellent con-man flick House of Games. Even though he is still working and recognizable, this is a man who really hasn’t had a quality performance in 20 years. Ok, I’ll give you Airheads! But in 1994 Mantegna starred in Baby’s Day Outas Eddie the Kidnapper and it’s been all downhill from there. Who thought all these baby movies were a good idea? This era gave us the Baby’s Day Out , the Look Who’s Talking series, Baby Geniuses, all leading up to the penultimate over-exposure of a terrible idea with those E-trade talking baby commercials. Let’s ban the talking babies for a few decades.

Another thing to keep your eyes out for is the excellent low light cinematography as most of the movie takes place at night, in the shadows with limited lighting. It’s not surprising to see Roger Deakins as the cinematographer, who has long been the Coen Brothers go-to behind-the-lens man take Mamet’s vision and give it a complementary visual palette.

A group of guides help their guests choose one memory to take with them after their deaths.

What Did You Miss?

It’s not surprising that the great films most will miss are sad, small budget, foreign dramas that are crafted with precision, passion, and love. While I am by no means, an expert (or lover) of Japanese films in general, this gem has just about everything you want from a truly memorable film watching experience.

Do not confuse this film with the supernatural thriller from 2009 After.Life starring Liam Neeson and Christina Ricci despite the similar titles

Sadly, this is one movie that you wouldn’t stumble over copies at Blockbuster (when it wasn’t bankrupt) or get recommended along aside every other choice your add to your Netflix queue. While I believe the film is available from Netflix on DVD, it is otherwise only available for purchase for about $30 bucks.

Director Hirokazu Koreeda does the masterful job of creating a realistic, graceful, understanding post-existence locale. The film takes a delicate matter of pondering what happens to people after they die. A cross-section of characters of all ages and types have to literally view their lives on film, relive their whole lives visually and select a moment that portrays its essence. The fallout from that choice is that they lose everything else. It is an ingenious premise that is adeptly portrayed like no other film that I have ever seen.

Recently, there was an article, I believe in Esquire, that asked why there were no good movies or scenes about heaven. They are always lame and cloudy. Hell is much more fun, apocalyptic, and worthy of a shoot-’em-up action flick. What kind of action would happen in a place that most people consider perfection? A place where there is supposedly no strife, bickering, or dealing with the minutiae of daily life. There may not even be days. How do you envision a place like this and more likely to make it dramatically intriguing? To me, filmmakers have portrayed heaven often when there are portraying characters dreams, worlds of alternate existence. A film like Inception or What Dreams May Come or The Matrix or Waking Life deal with it as alternate/subconscious dream states yet no matter what the darkness, fire and decay of hell seep in.

But for After Life, the threat is not there. This is a place of solace, understanding, and yet a burdensome task to those who are employed to assist in it. So to me, After Life is the most moving, realistic portrayal of the penultimate out-of-body experience, a film that truly makes you think and ponder what will be on your video hard drives when you make the next step.

Two misogynist businessmen (one played by Eckhart) cruelly plotting to romance and emotionally destroy a deaf woman.

Why Should You Watch It?

Not to be confused with the recent, decentUp In the Air-lightThe Company Men starring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, and Coach from the 90’s ABC sitcom “Coach,” In The Company of Men is is the of genesis of two notable careers in film. Aaron Eckhart and director/writer/playwright Neil Labute met at Brigham Young University.

Eckhart’s role of scheming Chad is the perfect exhibition of hiss acting skill, a role that requires the perfect amount of charm with possibly the healthiest dose of nastiness-per-moment-on-screen. Eckhart has gone on to a wide array of roles from Erin Brockovich to Thank You For Smoking to this weekend’s Battle of L.A. but every time I see him pop up on-screen the first thing that comes to mind, “I should watch In The Company of Men again.”

Scene from In The Company of Men

The man who supplied this perfect role is Mr. Labute. Originally performed as a stage play, Labute took two weeks on a $25K budget and created celluloid gold coming in at a brisk running time of 97 minutes. I think it’s about time for a clip. (Note: this clip has quite a filled with off-colored language but it still fucking hilarious.)

Labute followed this film up with a few interesting and entertaining productions such Your Friends & Neighborswith Ben Affleck and Eckhart again as well as the overlooked Nurse Betty with Renee Zellweger. How quickly things can a promising start can turn to crap?

Labute is still making movies although none that most people would want to watch unless your idea of a good time is watching Nicholas Cage in a remake of The Wicker Man or Chris Rock in an even less unnecessary remake of Death at a Funeral. Maybe one day Labute will come back from the dark side but at least there is one gem in his filmography.

Some More Thoughts (mostly random mental connections):

– My hopes for Labute’s career were very high coming off this film but after some entertaining and interesting work on his follow-up

The film seems heavily influenced by David Mamet’s fantastic Glengarry Glen Ross, which also was a stage play adapted to the screen. If you’ve seen the film, try to remember back how many sets there were. Off the top of my head I remember the office and the bar outside of those two the film takes has a few random exteriors. It’s story driven by dialogue and character. Note to aspiring filmmakers, the best way to make an excellent film on no budget is take notes from Men and Glengarry Glen Ross. Here’s a famous clip from the movie. If you can write something a monologue like this, and get someone to masterfully deliver it like this much-younger version of Alec Baldwin, then you’re already on your way to stardom. Good luck with that.